- Consensys celebrates a major regulatory win with the SEC ending its Ethereum 2.0 investigation.
- Ripple’s legal chief sees inconsistency in SEC’s decision, causing industry confusion.
After suing the SEC, blockchain technology firm Consensys recently hailed a major regulatory win. As Consensys had requested with an injunction in April, the SEC closed its investigation into Ethereum 2.0. The industry is hailing this judgment as a win.
Consensys founder Joseph Lubin was pleased with the SEC’s action and hopeful about upcoming regulatory contacts.
Consensys Not Done with SEC
Lubin-led Consensys is not waving off its lawsuit against the SEC, even if the agency has closed its inquiry into ETH.
Recently, Eleanor Terrett of Fox Business reports that Lubin stressed that, although closing the probe was an essential step, it was insufficient to achieve the required legal certainty. The company wants to get more thorough legislative regulations for the bitcoin industry.
🚨NEW: I reached out to @Consensys founder @ethereumJoseph for comment on the @SECGov dropping its investigation into $ETH and what it means for their lawsuit against the agency. He told me the company still plans to move forward with it:
“The SEC's decision to close its…
— Eleanor Terrett (@EleanorTerrett) June 20, 2024
Stuart Alderoty, chief legal officer of Ripple, remarked that the Consensys judgment was unclear in reaction to the SEC’s order.
Further confusing the market, he pointed out that the ruling seemed to go against the SEC’s prior assertions that digital assets and their ecosystems should be regarded as securities.
Consensys has called the SEC’s ruling, which means that Ether sales will no longer be regarded as securities transactions, a “major win” for the sector.
The case was first brought in April, when Ethereum was classified as a financial security by the SEC. This development signals a significant shift in regulatory thinking.
SEC’s New Developments
On March 28, 2023, the SEC started looking into Ethereum 2.0, with an emphasis on people and companies that acquire and trade Ether. Consensys received a Wells notice from the SEC in April indicating that enforcement action might be taken.
The sector is aware of recent regulatory changes, even if Consensys has not formally reacted to the most recent court proceedings.
The SEC may be changing its tack in its approach to the cryptocurrency sector given its surprising clearance of spot Ether ETF applications from large financial institutions, including Nasdaq, CBOE, and NYSE.
Meanwhile, as of writing, the price of ETH was at $3,587.46, up 0.67% over the last 24 hours, according to CoinMarketCap data.
Furthermore, with a gain of 2.86% over the last seven days, ETH has demonstrated a comparable increasing tendency. The encouraging response of the market highlights trust in ETH’s regulatory future.
On the other hand, a prior ETHNews report highlighted that the Ethereum-based stablecoin AUDN was suspended by the National Australia Bank. This ruling is in line with continuing examination and changes in regulations that impact Ethereum and its derivatives.